Photo: Brown Family
In the aftermath of the police murder of Andrew Brown Jr. by police in North Carolina we’re told three police officers have resigned and seven others have been placed on “administrative leave.” Apparently, there were no “good” cops present when Brown was killed.
American policing is more efficient at executing Black Americans than the infamous Mafia hit squad Murder Inc. was at killing gangsters.
Since Derek Chauvin was convicted last Tuesday, we’re seen several police shootings and killings of Black people including the back-shooting police murder of Andrew Brown Jr. in North Carolina. These police killings are more proof of this fact: institutional racism in American policing can no longer be reduced to just one of a few “bad apples.”
The institution of American policing is rottenly racist to the core. Period.
Therefore, this tired nonsense about most police being good people is a meaningless statement to Black America as the body count of dead Black people multiplies with stark regularity. Why aren’t the majority of these “good” officers speaking out and throwing out the murderous racist scum who take fun in brutalizing and killing Black people?
We’ll get back to these good officers in a minute.
Right now, in North Carolina, a contemptible cop coverup is taking place in this back-shooting death of Andrew Brown—who suffered the fate of several other Black men who were killed in a similar manner including Walter Scott and Laquan McDonald. Brown was reportedly also shot in the back of his head.
Today, the authorities showed 20 seconds of this police snuff film video to Brown’s family. They told them only that portion was pertinent. This is what we get when the police are policing the police.
Why don’t North Carolina police want us to see the full videotape?
If the officers did nothing wrong, we would’ve seen this entire tape immediately. These authorities decided to redact the videotape to conceal the crimes of these cops. This way they can present the most favorable fable to us regarding this criminal act.
The officials in North Carolina are doing what most American police departments do when they kill Black people: they are engaged in trying to help these officers escape accountability. The Blue Wall may not have shown up at Derek Chauvin’s trial, but we see it present in the actions of authorities here.
We are told police were trying to execute an arrest warrant on Andrew Brown when he was murdered by these back-shooting officers. To make it seem justifiable, they say Brown was wanted for felony drug charges. Perhaps, they think this will pass the smell test under the “fleeing felon” rule. It doesn’t.
They say Brown was wanted “on drug-related charges including possession with intent to sell cocaine.”
Even if we believe the police story here—which we shouldn’t—does any serious person believe this is a good reason to use deadly force on someone who wasn’t a threat to anyone?
The police, as is their usual M.O. are telling White America all about what a bad Black person Brown was. Of course, Brown’s record is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether the police were justified in shooting him down dead with shots to the back.
Their decision to doctor the tape, even before letting the family see it, is a clear indication they know this shooting was unjustified. What they are doing now, besides doctoring the videotape, is trying to figure out the best way to tell us lies to absolve this murder by police.
Today, a neighbor of Brown’s (a white woman) told a MSNBC reporter the police kept firing into Brown’s car even after his car had crashed into a tree.
The police tell us seven sheriff’s deputies have been placed on administrative leave. Basically, they’re on paid vacation after perpetrating murder.
This is yet another outrage. How much more of this is Black America supposed to endure before a full-scale rebellion (that may not be non-violent) against policing occurs?
Now, let’s get back to this refrain we always hear after these killings about how righteous and “good” most police supposedly are.
This idea that most police are good suggests they are good for all people in America. This is a false and dangerous proposition.
Sure, most police are good, for most white people. That is simply not the case for Black America—since, we are targeted by them as the likely “criminal element.”
Think about this for a minute: if most of these officers were really as good as we are told why are most of these police departments so rife with racism? Why are racists so comfortable in police departments and vice versa?
Right now, pressure is being applied on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. But if the larger majority of these supposedly good officers had a no-nonsense zero-tolerance policy against racism we wouldn’t need action by Congress.
Here’s another question: before Chief Medaria Arradondo, and those other officers testified, against Chauvin, when last did we see police turn against one of their criminal buddies in blue?
Unfortunately, police want it both ways. They erect their Blue Wall to aid and protect criminal cops—but then complain that they are unfairly painted with a broad brush because of a “few bad apples.”
If police want Black America to respect them, they must start doing the right thing by taking responsibility for the institutional racism that is a cancer in the entire institution of American policing. We’ve had quite enough of the disingenuous excuses, the routine lying, and gaslighting that follows these killings and murders by police.
In this case, we know that several officers opened fired on Andrew Brown as he was driving away from them.
Apparently, none of the “good” officers were present when the back-shooting police murder of Brown was in progress.
